Warmth
by Hermione-2113
Summary: AU set during 'An Eye For an Eye'. If Horlacher hadn't fired that shot...


I am not going to do it.

I am **_not_**.

There is no way on this Earth.

I mean it.

Really.

Oh, Hell.

It had been about five minutes since Tony made his infuriating offer, and Kate Todd was distracting herself from the icicles forming on her limbs by listing the people she hated. She hated the postman for sticking those eyes in the wrong box. She that petty officer for not being on vacation or something this week. She hated whoever the eyes had belonged to, and she hated whoever had removed them.

She hated the object of their surveillance for not surrendering himself into their custody. She hated automobile manufacturers as a whole for not making cars more suited to subtle running. She hated Gibbs for sticking them on this assignment. She hated her parents for ever meeting.

But most fervently of all, she hated DiNozzo for his offer of warmth. Knowing that he was sitting over there made her feel the cold that more deeply, and the temptation was maddening.

Finally, with thoughts in the area of thisisabadideanothisisaREALLYbadideathisistheworstideainthehistoryofhumanKINDthisissuchabadidea churning through her mind, Kate reached out and grabbed the armrest that formed a barrier between their seats, shoving it up and out of the way.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered as she clumsily slid over. Deliberately, she did not look at him. He was sure to be smirking, and if she saw his face she would hit him.

There was no sound from the driver's seat, only a pair of warm arms that came around her shoulders and pulled her against a warmer chest. She struggled not to tense.

After a moment, she felt Tony shift. He moved so that his back was against the driver's door and his legs stretched out over the seat. She was still pressed back against him, knees bent against her stomach; they both faced the darkened windows of their quarry.

Then Kate jumped slightly; his hands were on the zipper of her jacket. She tried to twist, but there wasn't room on the narrow seat. "What -"

"Just insulation, Kate." Before she could protest, he'd slid it down and off, then stretched the back against her legs. She heard him unfasten his own coat, then zip them both together like a sleeping bag.

The wall of fabric was undeniably warm, even as it pulled the two of them more closely to each other. Kate closed her eyes as the chill faded from her limbs, body relaxing as her mind whirled. Only her face was exposed to the cold air, and that discomfort reinforced how good the rest of her felt.

But hard as she tried to think of the form behind her as merely a source of heat, the illusion kept slipping. It was little things; the feeling of his shirt buttons against her back, the way her hair ruffled slightly when he exhaled. She might be facing away from him in near-darkness, but her memory cheerfully supplied a face to go with the body.

Oddly enough, though, the expression she imagined Tony wearing wasn't smug. It was content.

She was content.

The rise and fall of his breathing rocked her like gentle waves beneath a boat.

A cat yowled down the street, and Kate woke with a start. She tried to move but couldn't; her arms were trapped at her sides, her legs against her chest. Tony spoke before she could panic.

"Morning, Kate."

She squinted out the dark windows. "Hardly morning. "How long've I been out?"

"About four hours. Not a peep from inside." The sentence trailed off into a yawn. "Mind spelling me for a bit?"

"Sure." With effort, she widened her eyes, coming fully awake even as Tony relaxed. After barely a minute, his breathing evened out.

Kate sighed, trying to force her mind into the games one played to keep occupied whilst on surveillance. State capitals, presidents, times tables, her hate list again. But she couldn't focus. Those tactics only worked when you had too little to think about...not too much. And her thoughts were only too happy to focus on the implications of her current position.

Pressing up against another person to keep warm was one thing, but Kate had a hard time believing she'd relaxed enough to fall asleep in the circle of his arms. That he was even now sleeping with her cradled to his chest. That both of those things felt so peaceful.

The minutes rolled past and turned into hours, and Kate finally glanced over at the horizon to see a faint glow lining the trees. She watched as the flat blackness of the sky gave way to a tinge of blue. As sunbeams started to play across her face, she felt Tony stir.

"Kate?"

She fixed her eyes on the window. "Yeah, I'm still awake."

"Mm." His chest swelled in a yawn. "Horlacher?"

"Sleeping like a baby."

"Jerk."

Kate snickered despite herself. "Don't worry - doesn't matter how soundly he's resting, he has the wrath of Gibbs hanging over his head. I wouldn't switch places with him."

Softly, so softly she only heard it because of their closeness: "Neither would I."

Even as Kate fought not to turn her head and look at him, a buzzing noise startled them both.

Tony yelped, trying to get his arms free. "That's my phone!" His pocket was jumping slightly.

It seemed to ring for an eternity before Kate finally managed to wrench around and get it out, poking a button and holding it to Tony's ear.

"DiNozzo. Yeah, Boss - no, nothing. Yeah, he - you're where?" He blanched. "No - yeah. Okay." There was a click. "Bye to you, too."

"Where is he?"

"On his way."

Kate struggled to lurch up, but sent them both reeling to the side. Limbs tangled, and Tony cracked his head on the steering wheel.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

Stiff and bound into place by their coats, they thrashed back and forth for a few moments longer. As Kate tried to twist and grab a zipper, only to find Tony reaching for the same one, she couldn't help it.

She started laughing, laughing until she was breathless and then gasping in air to start again. It was contagious, and soon both of them were hopelessly caught up.

Only when a car door slammed down the street did they come to their senses. Four eyes looked over in horror, but it wasn't Gibbs; just one of the neighbors heading out to work. Kate sighed in relief. Then; "We'd better get out of this."

"Yeah. You hold still, I'll work the zippers."

"Deal."

A few moments later, the taunt circle of fabric relaxed; wincing at the cramps in their muscles, they eased apart.

"Coast still clear?"

Tony looked around. "Yep. No sign of him, or our friend in there."

Kate nodded, wrestling with herself. Then - "Thanks, Tony."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the quick flash of surprise on his face before the normal confidence reasserted itself. "Pleasure was all mine, Kate."

She saw him glance down the street. "Incoming." He grinned. "Time to get out of the igloo."

He popped his door and climbed out. After a long moment, Kate followed.


End file.
